Is 5 2 just a fad?

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  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
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    I'm glad you tried it yourself and weren't scared off by the people who just don't like the sound of it. It doesn't feel like starving because it isn't starving; it's occasional "hunger" which is a dirty word these days.

    It's changed my life. I hope you get equally positive results :flowerforyou:
  • andiebaco
    andiebaco Posts: 211 Member
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    Well, I've done 3 fasts since I started this post. I'm down 4 lbs. it didn't feel like starving. Hunger came and went. I felt energetic enough to start hula hooping again lol.
    I didn't binge next days. In fact I felt full earlier. And didn't crave chocolate which I normally do.
    Early days though - we'll see....

    Thanks to all for advice and input

    So glad you tried it!

    I love that on "feast" days I don't binge either... ANd I'm actually looking for ways to up my calories so I can average well at the end of the week! Never though that would happen!

    Keep with the good work and you'll see.

    People really don't understand that this is, as it is said by others, a way to create calories deficit but with other extra good things into the mix! (I don't have cholesterol problems or pressure problems, but my skin is so much better and my ToM pains were highly reduced!) Is it magic? No, of course not. It's the old style recipe (calories intake - calories burn = weight loss). However, for some people this program, this schedule works and where is the issue on that?

    To each their own..

    Since I started this diet I lost around 4.5 kilos, and I went from 77 waist to 69 waist... in around 4 weeks including a week in Barcelona. My weight loss is slow because I'm getting closer to my weight goal and I'm no longer overweight but it is working and it is easier for me to follow and schedule nice dinner / lunch with friends in different places with yummy food when I don't have to restrict 7 days a week... It works for me and I love it!
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    Well done on going for it despite negativity towards it. Glad you like it & found more than one benefit to it.
  • crandos
    crandos Posts: 377 Member
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    And on the other hand to you have any clinical evidence or trials that show that IF is unhealthy?

    I didn't say it was unhealthy, I just keep hearing all the hype about how good it is for you but no one seems to be able to come up with anything but weight loss if you do it at a calorie deficit. I'm at maintenance so I don't see how it would be a health benefit to me since I don't need to lose weight. If fasting is the cure for cancer or heart disease, etc then I think the world needs to know about this.


    You are not being told you MUST do it are you? Being forced at gunpoint? So really why do you give a toss what other people do? I was like you even 3 weeks ago..... now....... I'm a definite convert. If you don't try it...and I mean really try not like the half assed attempts by some people who find fasting for one day so damn hard..... then you have no right to complain about it at all or even really have an opinion.

    Why is everyone getting their shorts in a knot? I didn't say don't do it, didn't say it was unhealthy, just ask what the big deal is. No one seems to be able to answer that and it's fine. The OP ask if it was a fad diet and so far it seems that's just what it is. Eat whatever, whenever, however you want. I just think if something is as wonderful as the proponents of this "diet" claim it is that their would be some data to back up the claims.

    The only DATA you need is the proof of it working for people. I lost 2.5kg in 2 weeks... I only wanted to lose 5kg to get to 55kg.... for some reason eating at a deficit was not shifting a damn thing for months... even while working out daily.

    I go on this 2 weeks ago..... and BAM weight starts melting off. Still working out daily.

    Figure that one out.

    I eat next to nothing 3 days a week (I'm on 4:3) and dont give a rats about my calories on the other 4 days a week. I'm not obsessed with calorie counting anymore (that's a big deal for so many people) and I have more energy now than I did before. I sleep through the night....have not done that since my back injury 4 years ago..... THAT is a big deal for me. That proves there are health benefits for me. I can run 10km without having to eat that day at all & still have so much energy that 40,000 steps is nothing. In fact that's daily since doing this.....a minimum.

    The other benefits.....my skin looks & feels better, my nails & hair have improved so much, I'm less moody & have not had to worry about being depressed, I think better, I study better, I eat better. Other things more personal..... no more incontinence..... like really... at 38 mine was horrid. Could not walk without leakage.... now I can run without it. Hell I can do a star jump & not leak....holy cow.

    You don't need studies to prove something works when you can see it for yourself it does..... but if you don't do it then you don't know.

    im not bashing or anything i do leangains fasting but basically you ate less for 3 days so your AVERAGE CALORIES over a week was alot less no?
  • jbwork
    jbwork Posts: 9
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    So, I do a leangains hybrid of my own, and long term I'm not sure about the health benefits, but I really thing the whole "IF" thing is a bit of a hoax. Its just like low carb, or don't eat after 6 type setups. Its just a way to cage off calorie intake. If I eat 1000 calories of steak, I'm not going to be hungry anytime soon. If I only have 8 hours to eat, I'm only going to be able to do so much damage. I've experimented with this as well on a weekly basis. Determining that total number of calories I need in a week to lose 1lbs, I then tweak each day. I took it to an extreme of 2, 40 hour fasts a week, with the other days compensating for those lost calories. It worked fine, other than the fact that it sucked twice a week, lol. I've been doing IF for about 2 years, and I love it, but I don't think its going to save the world or anything. Its just simply a way to reduce the time/amount if calories I can consume in a day.
  • Jasano1234
    Jasano1234 Posts: 13
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    Definitely not a "Fad."
  • MySweetPotato
    MySweetPotato Posts: 175 Member
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    Way to create an eating disorder :)
  • xMillyLouisex
    xMillyLouisex Posts: 171 Member
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    I normally lose my weight doing low carbing but find that very hard to stick to, especially if im out or with other people so have been doing the intermittent fasting for the last 2 weeks but havnt even really been strict, if im going out il just do two normal days then just do my fast day the next day and I've been loosing consistently, about a pound every 2 days and waayy more energy than low carbing, im busting out my workouts like im superwoman.. I suppose it all depends on what types of food you eat, im not eating completely 'clean' but im not filling the calories I do have with cakes and biscuits - unless im really craving for something in which case I don't deny myself it :)
    hate how everyone gets on their high horse about 'fad diets' a fad diet is a diet like the maple syrup diet, or cabbage soup diet -
    and it is to do with health aswel as the fast days your body uses the time that ur not constantly digesting food to have a break and cleanse itself, if someones guna judge I think they should actually TRY it for a few months then come back and air there views rather than thinking they know it all
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
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    And on the other hand to you have any clinical evidence or trials that show that IF is unhealthy?

    I didn't say it was unhealthy, I just keep hearing all the hype about how good it is for you but no one seems to be able to come up with anything but weight loss if you do it at a calorie deficit. I'm at maintenance so I don't see how it would be a health benefit to me since I don't need to lose weight. If fasting is the cure for cancer or heart disease, etc then I think the world needs to know about this.


    You are not being told you MUST do it are you? Being forced at gunpoint? So really why do you give a toss what other people do? I was like you even 3 weeks ago..... now....... I'm a definite convert. If you don't try it...and I mean really try not like the half assed attempts by some people who find fasting for one day so damn hard..... then you have no right to complain about it at all or even really have an opinion.

    Why is everyone getting their shorts in a knot? I didn't say don't do it, didn't say it was unhealthy, just ask what the big deal is. No one seems to be able to answer that and it's fine. The OP ask if it was a fad diet and so far it seems that's just what it is. Eat whatever, whenever, however you want. I just think if something is as wonderful as the proponents of this "diet" claim it is that their would be some data to back up the claims.

    The only DATA you need is the proof of it working for people. I lost 2.5kg in 2 weeks... I only wanted to lose 5kg to get to 55kg.... for some reason eating at a deficit was not shifting a damn thing for months... even while working out daily.

    I go on this 2 weeks ago..... and BAM weight starts melting off. Still working out daily.

    Figure that one out.

    I eat next to nothing 3 days a week (I'm on 4:3) and dont give a rats about my calories on the other 4 days a week. I'm not obsessed with calorie counting anymore (that's a big deal for so many people) and I have more energy now than I did before. I sleep through the night....have not done that since my back injury 4 years ago..... THAT is a big deal for me. That proves there are health benefits for me. I can run 10km without having to eat that day at all & still have so much energy that 40,000 steps is nothing. In fact that's daily since doing this.....a minimum.

    The other benefits.....my skin looks & feels better, my nails & hair have improved so much, I'm less moody & have not had to worry about being depressed, I think better, I study better, I eat better. Other things more personal..... no more incontinence..... like really... at 38 mine was horrid. Could not walk without leakage.... now I can run without it. Hell I can do a star jump & not leak....holy cow.

    You don't need studies to prove something works when you can see it for yourself it does..... but if you don't do it then you don't know.

    im not bashing or anything i do leangains fasting but basically you ate less for 3 days so your AVERAGE CALORIES over a week was alot less no?

    Nobody is disputing that. Nobody is saying it is magic weight loss. Nobody is saying it's revolutionary or defies all logic or that you're losing weight without a deficit. Yes, yes, yes, it is a calorie restricted diet. Of course it is, it would HAVE to be.

    I'm saying it works for ME because I can restrict what I eat ONLY 2 days a week, eat 1700-3000 (TDEE plus exercise) the rest of the time and still lose lots of fat and minimal muscle. It works for me because it completely fits in around my lifestyle and I genuinely believe in the health benefits of fasting for 24 hours. (Yes, it is a "proper fast" because I don't eat anything for 24 hours)

    In short, if you can take a little hunger without wiggling out, it's an excellent way of cutting calories and still enjoying food luxuries without the exhausting daily grind of cutting calories. My appetite has dropped. After years of trying every diet going, my "full" switch finally works! My husband and I went out for a Thai the other week and I left loads of food. I would never have done that before. Fasting has taught me that it will still be there tomorrow.

    It seems to me that everyone's problem is the 500-600 calorie issue and that having a growly tummy off and on for a couple of hours is some kind of self torture. I used to think like that. I used to think I had to eat 6 meals a day to stave off hunger and it's just BS. What I needed was to ditch my pathological fear of hunger. The world would be a healthier place if people (like I used to be) didn't run to clean out the fridge at the slightest pang.

    I know I'm completely wasting my breath on this because this stupid pointless debate will just crop up again and again, but I'll be a size smaller then and much fitter so hopefully I'll care less because this way of eating has given me my life back.
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
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    Way to create an eating disorder :)

    BS.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
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    Any plan that specifies more details than calories in/calories out is just a fad or a personal preference. If it works, it's due to a calorie deficit.
  • xMillyLouisex
    xMillyLouisex Posts: 171 Member
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    Way to create an eating disorder :)

    ignorance.
  • andiebaco
    andiebaco Posts: 211 Member
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    Way to create an eating disorder :)

    If you really knew what constitutes an eating disorder, then you'd know that it takes more than a "fad" to create one.

    An eating disorder is an illness, and believe me when I say that people who are sick with this do a lot more damage than "eating normal five days and low cal on two days".




    Like some people said, it's a way to control your weekly intake.. No more than that. If it works for us, leave it be. I'm as healthy as a horse, and definitely with healthier food habits now than years ago (even at smaller weight!).
  • Flabulousss
    Flabulousss Posts: 106
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    Not just a fad, although trending... To me it's basically another way of counting calories. Is calorie counting a fad? Is fasting a fad? No & no. Personally I came to 5:2 because CCing every single day for months on end to lose a few pounds was making me CRAZY. Fasting twice a week is much more sustainable. It's either this or that, or perpetually getting more fat.

    I've only fasted a handful of times but I know that it makes me feel good. Different strokes. I don't believe humans evolved with a necessity to eat all day every day. You couldn't exactly walk over to a fridge ever few hours. Fasting just isn't starving. I think some people are just terrified of being a little hungry. Get over that and you'll be fine.
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
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    Way to create an eating disorder :)

    Oh. Dear. :noway:
  • alibabs65
    alibabs65 Posts: 10
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    I just started on the 5:2 diet this week and it seems great so far. I am going to do it on a Monday to recover after any excesses of the weekend and a Thursday to set myself up for the next weekend. I am counting the calories the other days but allowing myself a 1600-2000 so there's no way I'm starving myself as some have suggested.

    Also 500 calories can actually go quite far if you eat a lot of fruit, veg and salad.

    I have read up on the diet and it seems there are definite health benefits as it puts the body into repair mode.

    First weigh in tomorrow since I started this diet so fingers crossed :-)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Way to create an eating disorder :)

    By the logic that reducing calories twice a week equals an eating disorder then surely reducing calories seven days a week would mean medical intervention required?

    I'm amazed people are so scared of something slightly different, averaging your intake over a week instead of a day isn't really that radical.

    If people want to eat the same number of calories every single day then great if that suits you - personally I don't, high days and low days work much better for me.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
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    Way to create an eating disorder :)

    What an utter load of cobblers.
  • andiebaco
    andiebaco Posts: 211 Member
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    Way to create an eating disorder :)

    I'm amazed people are so scared of something slightly different, averaging your intake over a week instead of a day isn't really that radical.

    I think some people are scared of feeling hungry. They think it's the end of the world as we know it.. But in reality, the majority of the hunger feelings are more in our minds than in our bodies... But seriously... Once I got over it, I learned to appreciate food so much more, to enjoy it, and to eat because I want to and my body needs it... Not only because the clock tells me that I need to eat. And that's what I needed!

    Half the work for losing weight is in our minds. We have to do some sacrificies in order to learn and to maintain this structured... Whatever works for you, it works for you. But it can mean exercising hours in the gym, 7 days counting of calories or IF... As long as you meet your weekly calories goals, it will work.
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
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    5:2 works and I'm over 60! BP now normal after being high for years, joint pains gone, shortness of breath gone, IBS gone. Sustainable because after restricting your calories to 500, you know tomorrow you will be eating "normally". 5lb off my goal weight after 22 weeks.

    Congratulations on your weight loss. Counting calories works, I'm 66 lbs down after six and a half months. I'm also over 60. Sustainable because I have changed my lifestyle and am eating much healthier, I have no wish to eat 'normally' if it is the way I was eating before I started this journey. I like fasting occasionally, I'm not sure if it does have any good or bad effect, but it does reduce the number of calories I would otherwise have eaten that day, so for me it's positive.

    No point in looking up 'scientific evidence to support 5:2'. 5:2 is just a name for this style of eating - otherwise known as intermittent fasting. There is oodles of scientific evidence that support both the health benefits of IF & also use as a fat loss tool.

    In any case, IF is actually JUST another mechanism for calorie restriction - which as you say, has been scientifically proven. People like IF because it gives them more flexibility. Not everybody likes eating the exact same number of calories per day.

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